Nevada County picayune., 1887-07-06
AGRICULTURAL.
Agriculture.

Eden was at an unapproachable distance, the curse of God still lnne in our forefather's ears; ''In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground; for ont of ii vast thou ta ken; for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return" But as so strangely do our curses turn to blessing that when the doomed man began to till the earth which was cursed for his sake, beauty followed his toll, and plenty filled his granaries. Every drop of sweat that fell amidst the sands gave birth to some beautiful flow CT. that reminded him again of the pardep from which he had been driven: every tear wrung from his exhausted and oNerta sked nature, falling like gems of sorrow upon aid weeds and thorn bearing shrubs. become the germ of an in- cense- laden tree, glorious to the sight and sheltering from wind and sun. Every blow struck by indus try upon the bosom of mother earth followed by the flow of ma ternal wealth, as the gushing wa ters followed the strokes of the Prophets rod. Foil became Il blessing to man By its magic power he became almost cocrea- tor with the Maker of All. The rough and tangled wilderness be- meath his cultivated hand became a bower of shady fragrance. The trunks of lofty trees. like the ar TONY columns of great temple. supported canopy of Towering green and the birds of heaven were moved to sing among it's branches. By its magic powers the wasteful prairies on the Saha- ra 0. shifting sand became a fruit ful field laden with corn. The curse entailed on man made him a farmer. His wants brought him to labor and that labor Is the orl- gin of agriculture with it's count less train of blessings to the hu. man family. In the earliest sta- ges of society the wants of the hu. man family were few, but as na- tions multiplied the spontaneous productions of the earth were m- adequate to supply the demands Of want, and resort was had to i'm proved methods and scientific tll' lage, and from gradual and steady beginnings through successive ages agriculture has become the mightiest industry in the world.
 Its increase in the United States has been startling. It gives em- ployment to 3O,000,000 of our peo- pie. It has 7,O00,000 farms. It furnishes over SS00,650,000 worth of exports. By the census ot 1880 thorc are in the United States 10, 357, ,SSl horses; l,Sl2,932 mules: 9q3, ,970 work oxen, 12,443,593 milk cows, 22, ,44S,590 other cattle; 30, l9l.626 sheep: 47,6S3,05l swine; making the entire value of the live stock Sl, ,500, ,5O4.S27. Arkansas proportionate to population IS a contributor to this wealth of agrl- culture. It is the noblest, most useful. and honorable occupation that ever engaged the attention of mankind. The nobility of agrl- culture. aud independence are the boast and pride of our land of equal rights. The insane and in fatuated rage for professional life, has been succeeded by the safer and nobler ambition of becoming a producer rather than consum- CT of natures wealth.
 Most of our departed Presidents are ent0mbed amidst the green fields their own hands planted. The peerless Washington died as the planter of Mount Vernon, Ad- ans sleeps at his farm at Quincy, Jefferson on his mountain planta' ton of Monticello, Madison in his peaceful Montpelier, Harrison lies eutombed amid his fields and flock at North Bend and the im- mortal Jackson reposes at his Hermitage. Pine Bluff Graphic.